the galah

.

i was listening to trackside today and they spoke a lot about the life of a man called gary williams who had died and some of the things they said about him sounded similar to what tab man has told us about himself. So i googled gary williams auckland harness racing and it came up with an obituary on hrnz which when i read it,had even read more similarities. if he is the same fella,then i'm sure we will all be saddened. i do hope he makes a reappearance on here,but maybe someone may know whether hes the same man we often debate . its one of those things ,when you contribute to a site like this. You can tell so much about how the person you discuss things with,without actually knowing who they actually are. i had recently been wondering what had happened to the man who called himself walt ,as he discussed he had health issues at one point and we haven't heard anything from him foer a while.i hope hes doing ok.

the aussies i think are just driving a little bit better than the new zealnad drivers. i've always thought taragindi is the best nz 3 year old and i thought today it went the best in that race. They obviously had decided to drive it from behind because it can run around but those tactics back fired and he missed the boat down the back and then ran into interference. All the while the 2 aussies had the uninterrupted run in front. Habibi pat is a father patrick and as i've pointed out many times,they are good young horses but as they age their manners get more and more inconsistent.Obviously thats a generalisation but theres heaps of examples of it. So habibi pat is good one week but not the next and punters should never be surptised whatever happens on any given day.

can you believe that start. 2 horses wiped out a good 50m before the start and no false start. Whats going on with the starter?

the offical stipes report says "a better jackalack broke in the score up and shifted inwatds checking sweet reine,losing fround" You can see that from the video. so the stipes report acknowledges what we saw happened,but thats it. How can the starter not be questioned as to why he did not call a false start. its dumbfounding. The stipes hold the drivers and the horses responsible fot their actions,but the starter can stuff up big time and they just brush over it.Punters who backed sweet reine deserved better all round.

no funds left after putting it all on that one

well that was a debacle of a start and i hope they fine the starter,as punters who backed sweet reine were robbed blind due to his ignoring an obviouse false start. How the starter didn't see what was happening was ridiculous. The horse that galloped drew beside sweet reine and took sweet reine out of the race 150m before the start drew a position right behind the mobile where the starter sits . And he surely should have been looking there ,because there was also another horse directly behind where he sits, preventing sweet reine taking up its position before the other horse wiped it out pre start. sweet reine was at least 10 lengths off the back of the field after the interference. Then driver l o'reilly understandably just seemed content on following them around as he had no show . But then he actually pulled it to the very outside and flew home from last and goytt up for 4th. And becaus eh e got up for 4th,that meant he couldn't be late scratched because he finished in a dividend bearing position. So,in effect punters who backed it each way or in quinellas and trifectas and first 4's or quaddies ,well they were robbed. the whole thing was an absolute debacle.

Well the race wasn't run quite as i thought. I know they had said republican party was going to stay in front of leap to fame, but i have to admit,as i suggested earlier,i thought that was just talk and that they would realise they would undo themselves if they did that.So it proved and i think republican party went a very good race under the circumstances,just over driven.. Leao to fame went great,very courageous, but maybe just not at his very best, but tried his heart out. Kingman simply the best there on the day. Akuata,well he had every chance. I know they are nz's best trainers,but that horse had a vet exam last month that they said "detected a degree of internal pulmonary excercise induced haemorrhage". In other words he bled but not out the nose.So he was never going to have the lungs to keep going in a hard run race just a month later and so it turned out. But overall a great race,won by a really top horse. Leap to fame certainly great in defeat as well.

The crowd size does seem to be disappointing.It will be interesting to see if the numbers confirm that. Personally i think cup day is on the downward spiralSeveral reasons,but thats just being realisitic and will gradually get less people as the years progress.Some may say that is being negative,but i say its just being realisitic about something that is obvious. several reasons.Can't be bothered listing them but they are obvious. The racing has been entertaining.. there has been quite a lot of horses whose drivers have overdriven them by a long way and they have paid the price,but you get that on cup day i suppose...Its no wonder horses careers don't have the longevity that they used to as there was some gut busting racing. the trackside coverage. well the presenters are good but they have not done the runner by runner analysis that they had been doing on friday nights and i think they simply have talked too much about some horses and ignored so many that were there as well. And personally i really dislike the drone coverage . Its ok when they show them after the finish in a replay type shots but i've never liked it . So i've been a bit disappointed with some of the coverage. But as i say the racing has been good.

My wife insisted i watch tonights show as it was about mark purdon. She really has enjoyed watching guerin's recent interviews so i thought why not and sure enough it was very interesting. Greg o'connor was also very good when he did some interviews like that in the past. I also watched the box seat. The 4 presenters,cross,guerin,o'connor and graham all are very good at what they do and i think when it comes to coverage of the races we are fortunate to have people of that calibre doing the raceday coverage and commentaries. i like the way o'connor and graham have been doing the runner by runner comments in recent times. I think giving recognition to each runner is important myself and a very positive move. I wonder whether they will have graham doing any pre race interviews with the drivers as they circle just before race start time. The aussies do that well. I hope the weather is ok. It looks like it may be,although that wind can be a pain if it picks up. persoanlly i don't really have any picks for tomorrow. 11 of the 13 races seem to have reasonably hot favorites. i see guerin seems to think arcee pheonix should win the domnion for australia. That will be an interesting race.Lots of chances in that race. I had liked mr love a bit,but his wide draw puts me off a bit as he may get a bit far back from there. i suppose leap to fame wins. They say republican party will try and keep the lead if he gets there ahead of leaop to fame.. I don't know,i wouldn't be doing that myself.If leap to fames at his best he wins whether republican party is in front or not. If hes not then republican party could run past him from the trail anyway. Having said that,i personally think republican party has been winning its races here oky because they have allowed dalgety to dictate. that won't happen tomorrow.I think his recent form is being over rated a bit. Still he is a wondrful horse and nz's best chance.Kingman i think is the main danger to leap to fame,but it does seem odd to give a horse with so little standing satrt experience its first stand in the cup. But drawing near the outside i think could play into its fabour and i think it will pay around $2.80-$3 a place so that seems reasonable. Who knows

I see mr wood from cambridge is again suggesting things are not good at the cambridge harness club,on the other channel. lets just remember ,it is david branch from cambridge, who the nz harness media would have us believe is the leading nz club ceo/administrator. I mean ask yourself this,we hardly ever hear the names come out of the mouths of the nz harness media,of those that run the clubs in canterbury and elsewhere that return profits,yet they are always promoting the likes of david branch and j mckinnon as being the smart ones. So it appears the 2 people who run the clubs with the self inflicted worst financial states in nz,are who the nz harness media continue to say they are the smartest ones we've got in nz. it just makes no sense and is what i have always said,the nz harness media lack credilbilty when it comes to discussing some of these sensitive subjects. simply put,don't trust what you hear . And lets remember it is brad steele who has thrown his full weight behind the running of the slot races at cambridge,illustrating this with his many press releases on how important they are. He must have known that they had resulted in cambridge digging an even bigger hole financially for themselves ,as he would have had 3 years of the state of finances to analysis and knew hrnz had already had to significantly bail out the cambridge club previously. why does hrnz like throwing money into financial holes without and direction to change those clubs finances. i don't know,it just seems they know the truth is bad,so to hide the truth they talk things up to make things look better than they really are,then they box themselves into a corner and can't let the truth come out because everyone is going to recognise that their previous narratives are false and that what they say can't be trusted. Thats about where we are at i think at the moment. But back to what mr wood had inferred about cambridge. well very obviously its not well run financially. apparently they can't even get right simple things like running the sportbar they took over. Mr wood saying on saturday,he went into the tab in that bar,10 minutes before the first race at riccarton and he couldn't depost any money as they hadn't even logged on the machine to allow him to do that,despite 3 staff being there and next to no patrons. then he pointed out the lack of promotion for the drivers champs they had on course this week. then there had been when cambridge incurred $50,000 in extra debt eariler this year fighting cambridge raceways ceo,david branch's suitabilty for a managers certificate and the police ,licensing inspectors and the medical officer of health had all opposed the granting of a liqure licenses to allow this years grins meeting to proceed. they had objected because of the unruly behavior of patrons on course the previous year. in the end it obviously was allowed to proceed and in the end the police withdraw any objections to branchs application for a managers certificate.. Branch said he thought the police had unfairly interpreted the law as to who to blame for patrons unruly behavior. but $50,000 more debt for a club already in heavy debt. is that the sign of a club that things are running well. Is not promoting the world drivers champs a sign. Is not running the sports bar properly a sign. anyways,of more importance is i like mr woods horse that he has in the nz galloping cup later this week. I think its place price of almost $4 seems very nice myself.

i'll have a guess. is it one of your favorite horses Gus? Bred and trained by n williamson early in his career. It looks like o kite driving and the trees look like the picturesque course at wyndham.Looks like t may have been a drier summer than normal.

i see at auckland the reason d butcher sacrificed his own drive to assist his stablemate was because his stablemate got a penalty free win if it won.

the final heat another ripper of a race.Some of the most competitive race driving we have seen in nz for quite a while. mats djuse seems to have been the dark horse and has slipped into 3rd and pushed orange back a place. he has a couple of handy drives coming up so you just never know. Hall keeps nipping at the heels of mcdonald. so iit will be interesting to see how it all plays out.

i'm really enjoying watching these drivers champs as each driver does whats best to get the best possible placing. Punters certainly can't say they haven't got a run for their money with any of them. perhaps one or two have driven beyond the recent form of their horses,but then again some of the drivers have gotten more out of their drives than we normally see by driving them to win. actually as i type this i watched the auckland race and it looked pretty obvious d butcher sacrificed any chance he had to assist his stablemate to get the win.. Good to see that his stablemate didn't win. It defintely was not a good look when you have driving like that. But thats what happens up there more than it ever should and why people like myself say the north island product simply is not as appealing for punters.

like i've said before,i think its ok and is entertaining enough to justify continuing. I can see why it may frustrate some who liked the status quo. but if you are trying to appeal to a new demographic then you have to try something that may work with that demographic. What concerns me more is the way some of the harness horses they select perform.I've come to the conclusion watching their bets on harness,that its going to turn people off harness as their selections or their drivers underpeform so much,normally at cambridge of course. some of them simply go awful or gallop for no reason. Some of that is understandable as A White seems to like tipping trotters that gallop 4 times out of 5 at cambridge. He often says,they will win next time they trot all the way,after watching them gallop hopelessly as per normal. Some of the ones he tips are real head scratchers but the again hes having to tip on a poor cambridge product. i've watched some of their bets and they often have said after the race,well that one just sat at the back and made its move too late. Well they say that because like anyone who else had backed some of their selections,thats what happens a lot. so i don't think the hosts should be blamed much for there wins or losses. Yesterday a mccook tipped the favorite that they backed in the last at oamaru,bettor go vinnie and it inexplicably galloped so much that every time he mentioned it,it was still in a gallop.each time he went trhrough the field in his commentary. Really people who are part of that betting syndicate would get the impression betting on the harness is not a good idea..Maybe they just have been having a bad run at the nz trots,but i don't think they've ever done well on harness so far.

i was commenting the other day on cup day and it got me reminiscing about the good old days. Now harness racing was still a very popular sport,especially in canterbury, even as little as 20 years ago. but i will go back even longer to my initial memories of addington on cup day. i used to always take the week off and would travel to christchurch and stay with my auntie for the week.Monday was the day for travel to christchurch ,then cup day,riccarton,ashburton then back for the dogs that night,,initially at qe2,then show day and finally cup day at the gallops. During cup week i was always running into people from where i came from or people who worked occassionally in the area i lived and were from christchurch. Cup week was just an annual pilgrimage to christchurch for so many from all over the country and notably they all followed harness racing throughout the year. cup day started with turning on the tv around 8 in the morning when eating breakfast, in time to watch the main nz tv channel cross to someone on course, who would set the scene for the day,with about 5-10 minutes of mainstream tv coverage,that was the pre cursor to the coverage latter in the day. Then about an hour before race start time it was off to addington in just enough time to ensure a park was going to be available in the back street i had long sussed out for the day. Then there was the routine i had for getting in that i referred to in a recent post. Then it was a matter of filling in a bit of time and waiting for the horses to parade in the parade ring next to the old stables at the top of the addington straight. Now days it just seems a vacant carpark with a few cars which i don't know what they do with,sometimes there seems topping for the track sits there. But back in the day it was where all the floats were parked and where on a non cup racenights, you could park your car as well. then ,when the horses for the first race proceeded down the laneway towards the birdcage i would wander over and watch each one go past just over the fence almost within touching distance.everyone in the stand could see each horse,with their attendants walk in front of them for all the races down that laneway.That was part of the connection people had with the horses and attendants. The stable attendants for each horse got recogntion from the public and then it was into the birdcage where the drivers would be waiting. Then the drivers would take the reins ,3 or 4 loops of the birdcage and then out onto the track. as i said,it was that pre rece routine which provided a connection with the public,but then when they built the new stables they did away with any connection that people could get with the horses and drivers and attendants before or after they went on the track.They just stopped going into the birdcage.Thats something that several tracks did in recent times and i really do think its part of why people stopped going to the races. Anyway,then it was working my way to the tote and lining up. You had to allow enough time to work your way through the ques to the tote window then factor in getting a seat in the packed grandstand.Often on cup day my parents would be there and they would spread themselves out just enough on their grandstand seats to enable me to squeeze a seat next to them as they gave up a bit of room where they were. that grandstand was full of so many enjoyable memories for me over the years. After each race i would walk to the top,get the binoculars out and focus on the horses in the stabling area,mostly trying to see the one i fancied. Then i would switch to the thousands of people out the back,many dancing and partying all over the place..When you needed to pee,you went to the really big public toilets about 100m behind the main granstand which had some trees around it ,but on cup day it was thronging with happy people.Each race run you would see a small wave of people come from that area and pack the area in front of the main granstands then wander back to areas around where i described.Now theres that stadium in that area. Cup day was always a day when you were dark sunglasses as some 2 legged fillies would catch your eye. the cups that i remember the most was the ones lord module and hands down won.Lord module just had a way of creating a buzz amongst the public that i have never experienced before. It wasn't just me,i know others who felt the same. i watched the lord module cup from the grandstand. The hands down cup was one of mixed feelings. I timed my run to get a seat too late and simply couldn't move enough and got stuck watching it about the 200m mark in front of the stand . There was that many people cheering and jumping up and down to get a glimpse of the action near me,that i felt a bit deflated while others all around seemd abuzz. But it was off to under the tote to wait for the race replay and relive it again there with a better view.That was what you did to try and spot a next time winner from the replays back then. Anyways,cup week was always a great week but i stopped going after the grandstand disappeared after the eartquake. In fact,i used to go to addington a lot during the year,but the grandstand disappearing and them no longer going into the birdcage ,it just never felt the same. Familair faces that you met on course,just were never there anymore and like me,just seemed to drift away and never be seen again,except if you ran into them by chance somewhere else. my best week on the punt was when point away,trained by noel taylor and driven by p g o'reilly jnr won. From memory it paid over $40 ,despite being unlucky on cup day. I remember i hadn't had a great year on the punt prior to that ,but that one race made not just that week,but that year a good year on the punt.It was friday the 13th,1987 i see. going to the dogs at qe2 was always worth the dash back from ashburton. It was like they had little lighting where you put your bets on ,but the factor that i found so appealing was the dogs and their handlers paraded and raced just on the other side of the fence from which you stood. it had real atmosphere.When they moved to addington,they lost me and i know so many others who enjoyed a night out at the dogs. my most lasting memory of the gallops was wathcing little brown jug win with tito pobletti as the jockey,or some name like that. I don't know why,but watching him gallop past on a wram sunny christchurch afternon had something which you didn't normally feel. And of course how could anyone forget reon murthas commentaries throughout the years. Back to addington,when i went to the races on cup day,by far the vast majority were there because of the a major interest in the races.the news coverage ,whether it be radio,tv or print,it was such a huge event. Its not the same now and these days I get the impression cup days for so many who attend is about something else other then the races..Back in the days,people with horses,whether it be owners,trainers,stable employess and the actual horses,were all celebrities to a degree.People knew who they were,even many non racing people.Thats changed as well. We say those were the days,for very good reasons.

i would characterise the above post as being realistic. but what brodie and i and others are saying is we don't believe industry leadership is being realistic. when brodie and i and others comment along similar lines you sometimes call that appraoch as negative.its all because its a negative reality. Money is always such a significant factor,whether it be now or in the future. currently hrnz leaderships thinking is to do what they can to retain the bigger players in the industry by,at this point in time, providing them money rewards via bigger stakes and bonuses. So whats hrnz's strategy when they run out of money to provide the current level of money in the future. Will those decision makers even be around to deal with the consequences of their current decision making? The industry still has a lot of positives going foward. Its just,if we have future administration who come up with a workable plan to maximise those positives, they will be hamstrung by being strapped for cash because of what many believe is the current unsustainable business plan. anyways,we all want to see the indutsry prosper,but we just differ on how that is achieved.

its shaping up as heading towards a close 3 way finish between orange ,hall and mcdonald.. the tab odds are still very short for all 3 and not really worth investing on. even the odd of the drivers who have little chance seem way too short. but looking at the horses the drivers have drawn,it could be any of the 3 i mention winning. Orange has the better upcoming drivers but still is a way off the leaders and mcdonald and hall both have some handy drives and they could keep accumulating the points and hold the lead. the german may keep accumulating,but really the horses he has drawn count him out of any chance of winning. the final heat on tuesday,orange,hall and mcdonald all look like they are on horses who would be unlikely to run in the first 3. That last heat has quite a difference in recent form of the runners and its not really a fitting final race to finish on. You would think hrnz should have programmed something more even on cup day to be fair to the drivers..

watching the racing at cambridge tonight. Those world drivers champs races have really lifted the bar by a long way as far as racing quality goes. Each driver out to achieve the best possible placing with no pre conceived plan to help anyone else,every horse being driven well and all punters clearly able to understand their drivers every moves.Also 10 starters instead of the normal 6 we see at the average meetings up there. It just goes to show that cambridge can provide a high quality product to bet on even with the horses that race mid week and on the track they have.

the flip side to that is what i've always suggested. g dixon is a honest trainer who's horses run on their natural abilities.I'm sure he uses a good vet and the advantages that go with that,like all the big stables with wealthy owners,but thats different from using something that would give you an unfair advantage.Thats why i think leap to fame and his connections are so great and deserve what they win. Thats my opinion gamma.You've always been a dixon fan and followed his horses closely,so i assume that is part of what you respect and admire about him.

i have never been to kaikoura races,but with all the campervans in the middle,i always wonder whether people get to see much of the races anyway. it looks like those leaning on the rail on the inside part of the track wouldn't see anymore than 1/3 of the race at best and the same would apply to those on ground level on the outside part of the track,which i suppose is the majority of people. Do they have a big screen tv or something so people attending can actually see,or is the day more about being there than actually seeing the races..ii like to see the races myself,but thats just me. anyways,the long range forceast for next week has the temperatures for christchurch for the week all around 16-17 degrees with a bit of a wind,as is normal at this time of the year. i watched last year the ausie presenter say just how cold it was and how cold the wind was ,inferring it wasn't a nice day. Well mate,crikey this year looks like it may be colder. i remember when i was a lad the sun used to come out more in canterbury in november,at least thats how i remember it. personally,if i was in charge i would try and get cup week moved to mid december,,then the place would go off like the old days. warmer weather ,christmas functions for both cup and show day. Makes perfect sense to me. i wonder how the pre sales have been going. i just had a look. still available are the $90 per person for an infield ticket,$35 for standing up the straight. No i'm not as young as i once was so don't want to get too cold. maybe i should go for the $485 per ticket on the 2nd floor of the main grandstand where i can have a truly refined hospitality experience or maybe the marquee ,for one of the more prestigious racing and entertainment packages or maybe immerse myself in the vibrancy of the ned lawn for $370 where i can indulge myself in the premier taste of the ned wine. i had originally planned on buying a ticket to the grey goose terrace and planned to take the opportunity to berate robbie close for that mounga drive at westport,but luckliy for the goose my wife talked me out of that. hang on,'ve just checked my bank balance and realise i will have to resort to jumping the fence when no ones looking,just like the good old days. I remeber those days,we would rock up nice and early sneeking a park in a quiet back street not to far from the track.That back street no longer there these days. Then we would walk with the crowd taking in the sunshine,yes the sun used to come out more,back when i was younger,then we would wait and stand around near the gates hoping some giving member of the public would slip us a ticket so we could get in for free. Those were the days. we used to always get one in the end and that way we got to keep our punting money. Mind you the costs these days are too steep for anyone to be giving any tickets away.I also remember getting my licence and getting in for free. then I would go in do a loop of the turnstiles in a different area,get a ticket on the way out,give to my brother and then show my licence again as we both got in for free. No flies on me. oops,i'm slipping back down memory lane. Next thing i will start talking about the day,when i was young,when lord module won the cup ,when the siren went after the race and the whole racecourse,all 20,000 plus immediately burst into chatter, That was about the only time i could say i've exoerienced where you could cut the atmosphere with a knife,the place was so abuzz.

well dover terrace ran a very nice race after galloping.May have placed had it not galloped. spirit down under beaten fair and square by the other class horse in the field ,scrunch. Just the spreaders and inexperience of scrunch put me off it a little ,but it ran up to its recent form and was simply too good.Spirit down under just a tad disappointing, although the winner has looked good and shouldn't be underestimated going forward. nasana,got a nice run but dropped away in straight. thought it should have run better. you were right about b oranges drive,ohoka cobra.a good run for 3rd.

i like your thoughts on how to make the series not as much down to luck. Dover terrace. Its a former kaikoura horse,but a massive rise in class from a non win wednesday race, to today run against a horse who ran 3rd last start in a $50,000 listed 3yo race. Thats what i was meaning about the huge difference in recent form.

ill have another go in this race. can only go better than the last one. Spirit down under to win and nasana to run in top 3 multi. paying $10.50. i've never taken a multi before,maybe todays the day to start.